mma / Columns

411’s MMA Roundtable Preview – UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov

April 22, 2017 | Posted by Dan Plunkett

WELCOME:
UFC heads to Nashville with Cub Swanson taking on Artem Lobov in the main event! In the co-main event, Al Iaquinta returns to take on Diego Sanchez. In a catch-weight bout, Ovince Saint Preux looks to rebound against Marcos Rogerio de Lima. At bantamweight, John Dodson faces Eddie Wineland. Plus, Joe Lauzon fights Stevie Ray, Jake Ellenberger vs. Mike Perry, and more!

THE STAFF:

  • He’ll lock you in the guillotine, Robert Winfree!

  • He’s 411’s Jack of All Trades, Jeffrey Harris!

  • And your host, Dan Plunkett!

    Preliminary Card
    UFC Fight Pass
    Flyweight Bout: Hector Sandoval vs. Matt Schnell
    Welterweight Bout: Bryan Barberena vs. Joe Proctor
    Bantamweight Bout: Jessica Penne vs. Danielle Taylor

    Fox Sports 2
    Strawweight Bout: Jessica Penne vs. Danielle Taylor
    Lightweight Bout: Scott Holtzman vs. Michael McBride
    Flyweight Bout: Dustin Ortiz vs. Brandon Moreno
    Middleweight Bout: Thales Leites vs. Sam Alvey


    THE MAIN CARD:
    Welterweight Bout: Jake Ellenberger vs. Mike Perry

    Robert Winfree: Mike Perry, TKO, Round 1
    Jeffrey Harris: Mike Perry, TKO, Round 1
    Dan Plunkett: Ellenberger, Submission, Round 1
    The staff picks Mike Perry, 2-1.


    Lightweight Bout: Joe Lauzon vs. Stevie Ray

    Robert Winfree: Stevie Ray, Decision
    Jeffrey Harris: Stevie Ray, Decision
    Dan Plunkett: Lauzon, Decision
    The staff picks Stevie Ray, 2-1.


    Bantamweight Bout: John Dodson vs. Eddie Wineland

    Robert Winfree: This is a solid bantamweight fight between two guys known for power punches and who tend to finish. John Dodson is coming off of a split decision loss to John Lineker, and fight I thought he won, and is a fast technical striker with significant power. Eddie Wineland is a powerful striker as well with solid takedown defense and a slightly wider style of punching. For me either guy can win given the power and styles of both guys, but I’m struggling to visualize Dodson being lax enough defensively to get really hit by Wineland. I think Dodson just angles and uses superior technique to take this one down.

    Winner: John Dodson, TKO, Round 2

    Jeffrey Harris: This is a tough fight for the bantamweight division. After going through a bit of a slump, Wineland has rallied and come back pretty strong. He pulled off knockout wins over Takeya Mizugaki and Frankie Saenz. However, he’s facing John Dodson, who has incredible quickness and vicious knockout power. I like Dodson here. Wineland is a very tough, talented fighter. He might have a size advantage over Dodson. But Dodson’s quickness is unbelievable. His main problem is pulling the trigger. Tough fight, but I’m picking Dodson for the win.

    Winner: John Dodson, Decision

    Dan Plunkett: This will be interesting. Dodson is hit or miss; he is fast, powerful, and athletic, but sometimes he lays back too much. Wineland is much taller than him, but Dodson has never had a lot of issues overcoming height differential. Wineland is a good striker, is dangerous at range, and has power. This is a tough one to call. I’ll go with Wineland in a close one.

    Winner: Wineland, Decision

    The staff picks John Dodson, 2-1.


    Catch-Weight (210 lbs.) Bout: Ovince Saint Preux vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima

    Robert Winfree: I wish I cared about this fight, or the light heavyweight division in general. Ovince Saint Preux is a bit past his sell by date for me, he lost to Jon Jones but Jones is the best ever in the weight class then got knocked out by Jimi Manuwa and looked terrible against the unknown Volkan Oezdemir. Marcos Rogerio de Lima is a solid enough work horse style fight, he tends to fade a bit after the first round and hasn’t left the first round during his UFC tenure. OSP’s three fight losing streak has me leaning against him.

    Winner: Marcos Rogerio de Lima, TKO, Round 1

    Jeffrey Harris: A couple years ago, I probably would’ve picked Ovince Saint Preux. However, he hasn’t looked good at all lately. It’s one thing to look bad against a fighter like Jon Jones in a title bout. It’s another thing to get knocked out by a guy like Jimi Manuwa, who has always had vicious knockout power. But then he lost in an awful fight and performance to Volkan Oezdemir. Marcos Rogerio de Lima is not a world beater, but he does have a winning UFC record. Saint Preux continues his downward spiral here and potentially gets cut unless he can pull off a big win here. Not to mention, Rogerio has finished all four of his UFC wins.

    Winner: Marcos Rogerio de Lima, TKO, Round 1

    Dan Plunkett: It’s been quite a fall for Saint Preux. De Lima is a very exciting fighter, but I don’t trust his conditioning after the first round. Not that Saint Preux is a cardio freak of any sort, but he can trudge on late in fights.

    Winner: OSP, TKO, Round 3

    The staff picks Marcos Rogerio de Lima, 2-1.


    Lightweight Bout: Al Iaquinta vs. Diego Sanchez

    Robert Winfree: Al Iaquinta hasn’t fought in over two years, against anyone else I’d be hesitant to pick him after that kind of significant layoff. But Diego Sanchez is way past his best days and recently suffered his first TKO loss after years and years of fighting. Iaquinta might look rusty in this fight and get overwhelmed by Sanchez’s relentless forward pressure, but Sanchez is incredibly linear and hittable and I just feel Iaquinta should be able to hit and move and take out Sanchez.

    Winner: Al Iaquinta, TKO, Round 2

    Jeffrey Harris: My main concern here is Al Iaquinta is coming back from a lengthy layoff. Not only that, he’s fighting Diego Sanchez. Sanchez is far from an elite fighter these days, but he’s still an experienced veteran and he can be quite dangerous. That being said, even with ring rust, I see no reason Al Iaquinta should lose this fight. I see the only way he loses is by just being lazy and unprepared, or by making a really dumb mistake. I don’t see that happening against Diego Sanchez.

    Winner: Al Iaquinta, TKO, Round 1

    Dan Plunkett: Al Iaquinta hasn’t fought in two years and spent a good chunk of that time retired, so I don’t expect too much in his first fight back, although when he was last seen, he was really beginning to come into his own. Diego Sanchez is 35-years-old and has taken far, far too much damage over the years and it began to show against Joe Lauzon last July. I think we may see a slow start here, but Iaquinta should take it.

    Winner: Iaquinta, TKO, Round 2

    The staff picks Al Iaquinta, 3-0.


    Featherweight Bout: Cub Swanson vs. Artem Lobov

    Robert Winfree: Artem Lobov kind of sucks, his only UFC wins are over guys who’s position in the company is dubious and his first UFC win was over a guy who was brought in for the express purpose of furthering a camp vs. camp narrative. Lobov has less TKO wins than Dominick Cruz does. He marches forward and swings clothesline style punches, anyone worth their salt is going to be able to stick and move around him, snipe him because his defense is lacking, and basically just expose his limitations. Cub Swanson is a premium level fighter, his only UFC losses are to top contenders like Ricardo Lamas, Max Holloway, or Frankie Edgar. Now the more these two swing in the pocket the greater chances Lobov has, but even in that position Swanson is likely the superior fighter. Over five rounds I just don’t see too many ways for Lobov to win this.

    Winner: Cub Swanson, TKO, Round 4

    Jeffrey Harris: I don’t know how the heck Artem Lobov, who lost one of the worst final matches for The Ultimate Fighter in history, now finds himself in a main event slot against a top featherweight contender in Cub Swanson. But, here we are. Swanson’s had his fair share of wars, and I’d like to see him fight for the UFC featherweight title some day. I see no reason Lobov should win. He’s not well rounded, and he has a terrible record. He’s lucky he was able to stay in the UFC after going 0-2, but that was probably because he’s Conor McGregor’s teammate. Swanson is one of the most dangerous and dynamic strikers of his division, and he’s more well rounded than Lobov. Swanson, please take care of business here.

    Winner: Cub Swanson, TKO, Round 3

    Dan Plunkett: As others have noted, this is a puzzling match-up considering the other options that are available for Cub Swanson. He should take this comfortably.

    Winner: Swanson, Submission, Round 2

    The staff picks Cub Swanson, 3-0.


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